A prefix is a morpheme attached to the beginning of a root, modifying the root's meaning. We have many prefixes in English, yet only 20 account for 97% of all prefixed words (White, Sowell, & Yanagihara,1989, cited in Cunningham, 2009). Not only that, four account for 58% of the prefixed words!
Three of the big four convey the meaning of "not" or "opposite": un-, dis-, and in- (and its spelling variations of im-, il-, and ir-). The fourth prefix is re-, meaning "again" or "back".
The other 16 prefixes are:
Three of the big four convey the meaning of "not" or "opposite": un-, dis-, and in- (and its spelling variations of im-, il-, and ir-). The fourth prefix is re-, meaning "again" or "back".
The other 16 prefixes are:
en- / em-
non- in- / im- over- mis- sub- pre- inter- fore- de- trans- super- semi- anti- mid- under- |
"cause to"
"not" "in" "over" "wrongly" "under" "before" "between" "before" "away" or "down" "across" "above" "half" "against" "middle" "under" |